One Big OUCH!

Hello, folks!

I am so totally glad that today is OVER with.  It was one of those days that felt like it was in suspended animation...going through the motions, but just not seeming to get anywhere. Ever feel like that?  Anyway, Frankie's surgery is done and over with and he's laying in a hospital bed right now with one big incision running from mid sternum (maybe just a little lower than that) to lower abdomen. No drainage, though, his dressing was dry when I looked at it before I left for home tonight. He has a catheter for urine and a nasogastric tube for any leftover liquids in his stomach.  All that equals to one big OUCH!  We went into his room and he was groaning and white as a ghost. The nurse had just given him Dilaudid for pain and even that wasn't even making a dent, so they were going to check the orders and see what they could do and call the surgeon if needed.  I hated to have to leave him tonight, but I wasn't sure this morning that I could stay with him so I didn't have any of my things with me. He looked pretty wiped out anyway......

Oh, boy! That is what I wrote LAST NIGHT. My mother-in-law came into the computer room and woke me up at midnight. I was fast asleep at the keyboard!!  I'm so sorry this post never made the light of day last night, I was so wiped out myself I fell asleep while writing it! Hope you can forgive me. Before I went to bed (what a novel idea-to sleep in a bed!) I called the hospital and Frankie was much more comfortable and asleep.  That made me rest easier, too.

Ok, Frankie's surgery was a total success!! The surgeon came and told us that he had an "AVM" mass...."arterial venous malformation" which wasn't cancer at all!  Just a clump of vessels in which he removed.  So Frankie has NO recurrence of his cancer!  Yay!  It felt like a weight had been removed from our shoulders. My mother and father-in-law and sister came to be with me and waited the whole time with me in the surgical waiting area.  When Frankie went INTO the surgery, the surgeon stopped and talked with us and said he would take it out IF he could and he didn't sound so sure as he had in the office the other day.  That got us to worrying that the cancerous tumor couldn't be removed. The surgeon said it was attached to his small intestine.  Let me tell ya, it was a LONG three hour wait, but well worth it!!  :0)  I'm so happy, I could dance from the roof top....well, maybe not. After sitting in those chairs for three hours, I felt molded to it!  My right leg is still killing me and the muscle group in that whole leg is one big knot. I'm hoping that in time it will loosen because I think I worried so much, my fibro got control and now that muscle is a mess!  But now that everything is OK again, I can get the upper hand over the fibro!

My plans for today are to go to the hospital and hopefully spend the night with Frankie. I'm his "PAL" (patient assistant liason) which is a nifty program the hospital has that a loved one can stay as long as they like and even get a 20 percent discount in the cafeteria.  Cool!  I can help out with Frankie's care and even go with him to tests and so forth. His room has a recliner which is pretty comfy, so hopefully it won't be too bad to sleep in. I'll give it a trial run tonight and see how I do.

Thank you so much for all your love, support, prayers, thoughts and wishes. I have never had the honor before of being part of such an awesome network of people who really care about each other.  And I've been a madwoman ever since we heard the cancer might be back!  So thank you for being there for us.  We love and appreciate each and every one of you!!!

And again, I'm sorry this post took so long to write. I had to sleep on it, first....LOL!!!!  I think I still have the imprint of the keyboard in my face......

I'll write again in a few days and update you how our patient is doing.  You all have a blessed and pain free weekend!

Until next post,
Missy